Arteta urges Arsenal to ‘make a statement’ in Madrid as unbeaten Gunners eye first UCL final in 20 years | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has called for Arsenal to 'make a statement' against Atletico Madrid this evening.

Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of theirChampions League semi-final tie at the Metropolitano Stadium tonight.

The North London side have reached the last four for the second straight season, and have their sights on reaching a firstChampions League final for 20 years.

The Gunners are unbeaten in Europe this season, and will start as slight favourites against an Atletico Madrid side who have exceeded expectations to reach the last four.

Neither side has won the Champions League and the opportunity is not lost on Arteta. After last season's semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the Spaniard has called on his team to seize the moment and make a statement in the Spanish capital.

“It's a massive privilege to be here again, two years in a row at the same part of the Champions League, representing our club,” he said in hispre-match press conference.

“We have an opportunity, we're going to grab it with both hands. You're going to see a team that wants to be dominant, that wants to win it, and they want to start to decide the tie tomorrow.

“This is the status that we want, and we have earned it through incredible work, passion and quality in the last nine months.

"Now is the moment to make a statement, and show how good we are, how much we want it, and make it happen. It's clear, the opportunity is in front of us, and we have to attack it.

“I don't take it for granted because a very short time ago, this club had seven years without Champions League. So, in that very short period of time, what we have achieved is remarkable.

"We know the difficulty of it, we know how much we worked for this, so enjoy it, take the opportunity, embrace it, because it's very tough to be here.”